“This is the one case for which exposure isn’t a concern.” The director’s tone never changed. “The FBI would be talking to the boy on this case whether he was working for us or not. If the director of National Intelligence asks—and he won’t—it would be easy enough to explain. Redding’s son was there the first time around. He knows the ins and outs of Redding’s psyche better than anyone—including you.”
“I agreed to come here and evaluate this program because you said that reporting the Naturals program to Washington would be a mistake.” A tiny hint of emotion crept into Agent Sterling’s voice, though whether it was frustration or something else, I couldn’t tell. “You told me that I needed to see it myself to understand exactly what I would be shutting down.”
I’d wondered why the director would send his daughter here, knowing she thought this program was a mistake, and now I knew.
“You listened to me then,” the director countered calmly. “You could have filed that report, and you didn’t.”
“Like you left me any choice!”
“I did nothing but tell you the truth.” The director looked down at his watch, as if to mark exactly how much time he was wasting on this conversation. “This program is the only thing keeping that boy from the edge. You think he’d fare better in foster care? Or maybe you’d like me to send Lia Zhang back onto the streets? She’d get caught again eventually, and this time, I guarantee you she’d end up getting tried as an adult.”
I felt Lia stiffen beside me.
“You wanted me to come here,” Sterling said, gritting out the words. “I came here. But when I did, you promised that you would listen to my recommendations.”
“If you were being reasonable, I would listen. But keeping Dean Redding away from this case isn’t reasonable.” The director gave her a moment to reply to that, and when she didn’t, he continued. “You can stand there and tell me how wrong this program is, but inside, you want to shut down this killer just as badly as I do. It’s everything you can do not to use the Naturals to do it, and sooner or later, you’ll forget all about your principles. You’ll be the one telling me we need to cross that line.”
I expected Sterling to tell him he was wrong. She didn’t. “Of course I want to use them!” she shot back. “But this isn’t about me. Or you. Or the Bureau. This is about the five teenagers who live in that house. Five actual people whose only protection is rules that you put in place and then break, again and again. You’re the one who let Cassie Hobbes work on the Locke case. You’re the one who insisted we bring Dean to talk to Redding. You’re making rules and breaking them, sending mixed messages—”
“That’s not what this is about,” the director broke in. Unlike his daughter’s voice, his remained completely impassive. “You’re not upset about whatever messages you think I’m sending. Five years later, you’re still upset that I sided with your husband on this program instead of with you.”
“Ex-husband.”
“You left him. You left the FBI.”
“Go ahead and say it, Dad. I left you.”
“Do you know what kind of position that put me in, Veronica? How am I supposed to command the loyalty of the entire Bureau when my own daughter couldn’t be bothered to stick around? After the incident with the Hawkins girl on the Nightshade case, morale was low. We needed to present a united front.”
Agent Sterling turned her back on her father, and when she turned back around, the words shot out of her like bullets from a gun. “Her name was Scarlett, and it wasn’t an incident. A psychopath snuck into our labs and murdered one of our people. Tanner and I both had something to prove—” She cut herself off, breathing in raggedly. “I left the Bureau because I didn’t belong there.”
“But you came back,” the director said. “Not for me. You came back for the boy. What Redding did to you, what happened to Scarlett on the Nightshade case—it’s all tied up in your mind. You couldn’t save her, so you’ve decided to save him.”
Sterling took a step toward her father. “Someone has to. He’s seventeen years old.”
“And he was helping dear old daddy out when he was twelve!”
It was all I could do not to fly off the roof and go at the director myself. Beside me, all the tension melted out of Lia’s body. She looked relaxed. Friendly, even. For Lia, that meant she was almost certainly out for blood.
Some people will always look at Dean and see his father, I thought dully. The director didn’t just hold Dean responsible for the sins of his father—he considered Dean an accomplice.
“I am done talking about this with you, Veronica.” The director’s temper frayed. “We need to know if any of Redding’s visitors is a likely suspect on this case. Do I need to tell you who some of Colonial University’s alumni are? The pressure to put this one to bed is coming from on high, Agent.” His voice softened slightly. “I know you don’t want to see the bodies stacking up.”
“Of course I want to catch this guy before anyone else gets hurt.” Agent Sterling had cautioned me against making cases personal, but this one had snuck through the chinks in her armor. “That’s why I went to see Redding myself.”